Project: Towards new forms of urban governance and city development: learning from urban experiments with living labs and city labs

Acronym URB@Exp (Reference Number: 4220697)
Duration 01/09/2014 - 31/08/2017
Project Topic European cities face economic, social and environmental challenges of growing complexity. In response, new forms of governance are called for, including urban labs (Living Labs and City Labs). Policymakers and urban development stakeholders struggle to implement urban labs and seek guidance for further development. Evidence-based guidelines and design principles are needed concerning types of challenges for which urban labs are most suited, how urban labs can best be organized in terms of structure, process, and participation, and how urban labs can best be integrated into local government structures. URB@Exp aims to develop such guidelines in order to enhance successful uptake of this innovative form of urban governance, thereby contributing to improved governance of urban complexity, for creating more sustainable, inclusive, attractive, and economically viable cities. The approach consists of three steps: (1) literature review and analysis of experiences of urban labs, (2) action research in urban lab experiments in five European cities based on concepts of transition experiments and participatory design, and (3) interurban exchange, learning, synthesis and dissemination of lessons. The URB@Exp consortium has direct access to diverse urban lab experiments, bringing together policymakers and civil society actors committed to learning, and academics with relevant interdisciplinary and synergistic expertise.
Network JPI Urban Europe
Call JPI Urban Europe 2nd Call

Project partner

Number Name Role Country
4220697 Maastricht University - ICIS Coordinator Netherlands
4222810 Lund University - LUCSUS - Centre for Sustainability Studies Partner Sweden
4223007 City of Maastricht Partner Netherlands
4223162 Universität Graz - Geographie und Raumforschung Partner Austria
4486344 Malmö University - School of Arts & Communcation / K3 Partner Sweden
4493285 City of Antwerp Partner Belgium